BALTIC SEAENVIRONMENT PROCEEDINGS No. 59 - Helcom

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5.1
Pre-spill preventive measures
The expenses incurred for preventive measures are recoverable under the 1992
Conventions even when there was no spill of oil as a result of the incident, provided
that there was a grave and imminent danger of pollution damage.
Definition of “pollution damage”
The 1992 Protocol to the Civil Liability Convention contains a new definition of the
notion of pollution damage which retains the basic wording of the existing definition
but a phrase has been added which clarifies whether and to what extent damage to
the environment is covered by the definition. It is provided that compensation for
impairment of the environment (other than loss of profit from such impairment) shall
be limited to costs of reasonable measures of reinstatement actually undertaken or
to be undertaken.
Capping Provision
The Conference decided to include in the 1992 Protocol to the Fund Convention
provisions setting a cap on contributions to the IOPC Fund payable by oil receivers
in any given State. This cap was set at 27.5% of the total contributions to the IOPC
Fund. The capping system will cease to apply when the total quantity of
contributing oil received during a calendar year in all Member States of the new
Fund set up under the 1992 Protocol exceeds 750 million tonnes, or after five years
from the entry into force of the 1992 Protocol to the Fund Convention, whichever is
the earlier.
Entry into force
The 1992 Protocol to the Civil Liability Convention will come into force when ratified
by ten States, including four States each with not less than one million units of
gross tanker tonnage. The 1992 Protocol to the Fund Convention will enter into
force when ratified by at least eight States and when the total quantity of
contributing oil received during a given calendar year in all the ratifying States is at
least 450 million tonnes.
CLAIMS AGAINST THE IOPC FUND
Claims experience
From its establishment in February 1979 to 1 June 1993, the IOPC Fund has been involved in the
settlement of claims arising out of 66 incidents. 34 of these incidents have occurred in Japan. 22
incidents, leading in general to much larger claims, took place in European waters, one incident in
Algeria, four in Canada, one in Indonesia. two in the Persian Gulf. one in the Caribbean and one in
the Republic of Korea. Some of these incidents were settled, however, without any payment being
made by the IOPC Fund. The IOPC Fund has paid compensation or indemnification amounting to
about US $92 million in relation to the 56 incidents which have been entirely or partially settled.
The case involving the largest payment was the TAN10 incident (France, 1980). where the IOPC
Fund paid FFr222 million (UW40.6 million) to claimants. In the HAVEN incident, the aggregate
amount of the claims greatly exceeds the maximum amount payable under the Civil Liability
Convention and the Fund Convention, but so far no payments have been made.
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